Student Pilot PA-12 Collides With DA42 on Taxiway After Runway Crossing at Bozeman Airport

On April 4, 2018, a Piper PA-12 and a Diamond DA42 NG collided while taxiing at Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport in Montana. Both aircraft had been involved in local instructional flights.

The PA-12, N7709H, had landed on Runway 11. The aircraft was instructed to taxi via Taxiway C2 and later hold short near Runway 12. At the same time, the DA42 had landed on the parallel Runway 12 and exited toward Taxiway A3.

The PA-12 crew was later cleared to cross Runway 12 and instructed to contact ground control. After crossing the runway, the PA-12 entered Taxiway A3, where the DA42 was still positioned.

The PA-12 then struck the tail of the DA42. Both airplanes sustained substantial damage, but no injuries were reported.

The accident occurred in good weather, with clear conditions and good visibility. The problem was therefore not a weather emergency; it was a ground-movement conflict involving two aircraft using intersecting taxi routes.

Taxiway operations require pilots to maintain a continuous picture of where other aircraft are located, even after receiving a clearance. A runway-crossing clearance authorizes a specific movement but does not remove the need to confirm the path is clear.

The collision also shows why the airport surface can be as operationally demanding as the airspace above it. Two aircraft can be legally moving under different instructions and still converge if their positions are misunderstood.

The available accident account supports the sequence of the two aircraft landing, receiving taxi instructions, the PA-12 crossing Runway 12, entering A3 and striking the DA42. It does not require a more dramatic explanation: the important safety issue was surface awareness and coordination.

The collision occurred after the PA-12 entered Taxiway A3 while the DA42 was still there, which reinforces the need for surface awareness.

Accident Facts

Sources

Kathryn's Report, April 2018 — http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2018/04/piper-pa-12-super-cruiser-n7709h-and.html

the associated record — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcYddCCBDrg